The shotgun in Fortnite Battle Royale is one of the most important guns to get good with if you want to get better in the game. However, some people might find it to be inconsistent or are initially puzzled by how it works. Our shotgun tips guide will help you become better with this powerful weapon.

Shotguns have been a pretty controversial subject over the lifespan of Fortnite. Some have found them to be overpowered, while more recently they have been looked at as a bit underpowered. You'll get varying opinions on them throughout the community, but the fact of the matter is that you better know how to use one or you'll struggle in the game.

Fortnite 9.00 Patch Update

To a lot of players surprise, the Pump Shotgun was sent to the vault. Epic detailed their reasons why in a post:

We want the beginning of each Season to feel fresh and allow for a new gameplay experience along with all the new Seasonal content. Whether its new cross-map mobility, new weapons, or just new places to drop - you should feel like there is plenty to explore and experience. Specifically when it comes to Pump Shotguns, they stand out significantly: they currently account for over 26% of eliminations in default playlists, with the next weapon type not even coming close. Rather than nerfing the Pump Shotgun to a point where it no longer lives up to its fantasy, our preference is to return it to the vault, giving us an opportunity to revisit the general balance of the item, while introducing a new shotgun.

Our goal with the Combat Shotgun is to provide an item that fills a similar niche, but with a different risk and reward. We’re excited to see how you all use the new shotgun and look forward to your feedback on this shift.

Fortnite Shotgun Tips

Land Your Shots (Kid) on the DOT!

Probably the hardest thing to get used to or shake when you start playing is getting used to the crosshair. You have a dot in the middle which has four little parentheses at each corner. This area is generally where your buckshot will go when you fire, but ultimately you want to be targeting where the dot is or you'll be disappointed with the results. The spread on shotguns can be pretty random (particularly the tactical), but for the most part it is concentrated on the dot.

Aim for the Head

Pretty obvious but shotguns are meant to end a battle quickly so you don't take any damage. You can do huge damage with a quick hit from a shotgun, and this gives you the possibility to win just about any fight.

Use Third Person View to Your Advantage

If you hear someone coming towards you in a building or area with cover, try to utilize the third person view which can allow you to sidestep out behind cover and headshot them. Be sure to have the shot lined up before you pop out so you can instantly fire!

Build Better and Smarter

The biggest key to dominating with the shotgun is utilizing your building skills. If you are close to someone then being above them and shooting downwards gives you a much better angle for getting a headshot and protecting yourself from them. It's tempting to just jump off the high ground and go for a finishing shot like Ninja, but it's better for the average player to hold the high ground and quickly peak and sneak a shot off rather than expose yourself to unnecessary damage.

If you get more advanced you can try putting up a wall between you and your opponent, and then edit a quick window in it so you can throw a shot at them when they don't expect it! You can also throw a pump shot at your enemy and quickly put up a wall to block their shot.

Fortnite Shotgun FAQ

Why does my shotgun sometimes do very low damage?

With a previous patch, there's no longer RNG to worry about when it comes to buckshot spread. You also get hit markers in-between your crosshairs, so if you notice you only hit a partial shot, that means you likely didn't do much damage. When you deal low damage like the common 9-damage meme, it usually means you only partially hit your shot. It could also be that you are too far away from your target, but that is more obvious.

Should you use ADS (Aim Down Sights) with the shotgun?

In most situations you shouldn't use this. It slows you down and is unnecessary in most close range fights. Often you are jumping around or quickly peaking out to take a shot. However, if you are in kind of a close to mid-range battle and have the time to lineup the shot then yes it does improve your accuracy and tightens the spread of the buckshot. Pump shotgun is also much better at this, it has a larger range and can do more damage.

Which shotgun is the best?

That's up in the air now that the Pump Shotgun has been sent to the vault. It's likely the Combat Shotgun even though it does slightly less damage, it fires quite quickly and has a tighter spread on it. They are probably very close, so just pick the one you like the most.

About the Author

Evident is a lifelong gamer and creator of websites. He mostly focuses on shooters, but has been known to dabble in the occasional card game as well. You can find him binge watching TV shows in his downtime.

I tried to hit a flick shot with the gold heavy to win the game, and it did 16 damage, with a squared up body shot, then I shot again to the head and it only did 46. After I missed, we commenced into a build battle, which he bitched out of and rpged down, so i lost the game to fall damage one day before glider redeploy was re added

Can you possibly explain why the grey tactical shotgun in a 1v1 battle did 64 on full torso shot, 53 on a head and torso shot, 53 on leg/foot shot and 23 on full torso shot? What is wrong, am I missing something, did something change? Help because epic only says we are still in the beginning stages.

It’s all about how much of your shot hits the person. Each small projectile does damage, so with your headshot you did less damage because you only partially landed the shot. What you listed is a pretty common scenario, damage can be all over the place because the spread is random and your aim might have been off.

Crybabies like you ruin the game, pumps were high risk high reward. No ones telling you to go up to somebody and engage in a pump fight, the game has a unique building feature. But for those of us who have the balls to go into a shotgun fight a 223 with a pump to either myself or the person im shooting is fair. Close range combat shouldnt require multiple shotguns to the head. Lower skill gap now for noobs like you.

I think it’s funny you call me a crybaby when all I suggested was a slight reduction in damage. I’ve always been a fan of the pump and have an aggressive playstyle, but it should be obvious to everyone that it was slightly overpowered. The pump largely made the heavy shotgun obsolete, so now with this change it makes it more viable. The skill gap is now HIGHER due to the nerf, you have to hit multiple shots instead of just one… Not to mention the majority of the time you can still one-shot people because most players aren’t at 200 hp.

If you miss you die? That means you are not good. Any decent player knows that after the first pump shot you either switch to another weapon or place a wall to block the enemy’s shot. “The pump requires skill”, you made me laugh.

So you’re saying any decent player with aim should be able to take out an entire squad with just two pumps because they’ve played years of other shooters since they were kids and they can aim not to mention the RNG in the game sometimes even if you get the perfect shot it’ll 196 instead of 200 pumps are fixed now you can still do a ton of damage without it just now takes skill because if you don’t land your shots now the tactical has a chance to outshine it with the faster firing speed.

The fact that u acknowledge the shotgun being the best gun in the game shows it too op and broke a common pump 200 damage to head but a gold rocket launcher does not let’s get real epic no weapon in the game should one tap any body for 200 unless it is a gold bolt to the head exspecially pumps due to the fact no matter if you aim or hip fire the spread is the same so not all pellets should hit one part of the body unless your directly on them and aiming right at body location need to get your team on this asap and fix a major flaw in the game